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Tuesday, 8 January 2013

Stunning images show off size of giant warships

THEY are the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy – and these newly-released graphics show their sheer scale better than ever.

The Aircraft Carrier Alliance – a consortium of defence companies behind the construction of Portsmouth’s newest carriers – has released a series of powerful posters showing off the size of the warships.The computer-generated images show the warships dwarfing some of the country’s most recognisable landmarks.And one of the most striking posters is of the under-construction HMS Queen Elizabeth berthed alongside in Portsmouth.Ian Booth, the programme director of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, said: ‘These posters depict the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers in front of the Houses of Parliament and in Portsmouth.‘They’re stunning images and show that Portsmouth can expect two really spectacular ships to be resident at the city’s naval base once construction is complete.’A computer-generated image released last year showed how the first of the two carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, would look alongside at Portsmouth Naval Base.Now the image has been used in the series of posters which put the size of the ships into context.The images reveal the length of the ship is the equivalent of 28 London buses and is almost three times the size of Buckingham Palace.The carriers are 280m in length, 65,000 tonnes and capable of embarking 40 aircraft – twice the capacity of HMS Illustrious.They are being constructed at shipyards around the country and taken for assembly at Rosyth in Scotland.As reported in The News, work is ongoing in Portsmouth to complete the forward island of the ship which will house the bridge.The Aircraft Carrier Alliance is formed of BAE Systems, Babcock, Thales and the Ministry of Defence.Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock said he couldn’t wait to see the work being completed.‘This is superb and it is great news. It’s going to benefit the city and the country on many different levels.‘I can’t wait to see the work being completed and then seeing these ships in Portsmouth.‘The people of Portsmouth should be welcoming this.‘These ships are going to create more jobs here.’